Taiwan government to appoint team to supervise Mega Bank probe

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Premier Lin Chuan (??) said Tuesday that the government will appoint a team to supervise the ongoing investigations by the country's justice and financial authorities into the money-laundering allegations against Mega International Commercial Bank.

The Cabinet will push "the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) to find the facts in the shortest period of time," Lin said at a press conference.

He stressed that there are no limitations in the investigation into the operations of Mega Bank, which was fined NT$180 million in the United States earlier this month for violating money laundering laws.

A team, led by Vice Premier Lin Hsi-yao (???), will supervise the MOJ and FSC's investigations into the alleged violations by the state-invested Mega Bank, the premier said.

On Aug. 19, New York State's Department of Financial Service (DFS) slapped a US$180 million fine on Mega Bank, the flagship banking unit of Mega Financial Holding Co., after identifying "a number of suspicious transactions" between its New York and Panama branches.

The DFS said it also discovered that "a substantial number" of the bank's customer entities were formed with the assistance of Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama, which specializes in creating tax shelters for wealthy elites around the world.

The transactions allegedly took place in 2012 and were uncovered by the DFS during an examination conducted between January and March 2015.

Since the fine was imposed by U.S., the Taipei District Prosecutors Office has launched an investigation into Mega Bank's operations.

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